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05.13.15

I’ve noticed a subtle pattern in college and high school students. I wonder if you’ve seen it too. Over the past year, I’ve marveled at what kids find humorous. At times, I’m startled at the misfortunes — even “fails” — that kids watch on YouTube and find funny. Recently, I formed an informal focus group of twenty-year olds and asked about their sense of humor. (I will admit I have a bit of a warped sense of humor myself.) I inquired, however, if they have noticed what they laugh at most.

Now, please understand that I recognize the shock value of this content. It creates a buzz. It differentiates. I also realize adults started this, not our kids. Society seems to be wandering into new territory when it comes to racy remarks or capturing pitiful or shameful behavior on video. But for me, it gives whole new meaning to Socrates words: The unexamined life is not worth living. What’s happening to us?

Has Empathy Become a Lost Friend?

Over the past five years, I’ve noticed a drop in empathy among the students I teach. And I’m not alone. According to a University of Michigan study, today’s college students are not as empathetic as college students from the 1980s or ’90s. The study, presented to the Association for Psychological Science, analyzed data on empathy among almost 14,000 college students over the last 30 years.

“We found the biggest drop in empathy after the year 2000,’ said Sara Konrath, a researcher at the UM Institute for Social Research. ‘College kids today are about 40 percent lower in empathy than their counterparts of 20 or 30 years ago, as measured by standard tests of this personality trait.”

I met Meredith at a recent Teachers As Leaders event. She’s an educator who shared this insightful video explaining why we’re seeing this drop in empathy. She reminded me of how little time we’ve given our kids to push “pause” and think, or wonder, or reflect. And without that quiet time, empathy doesn’t thrive… it hides.

Where Has Empathy Gone to Hide?

The truth is, social media has stolen our margins in life, and unless we help students become intentional about technology, they can become slaves to the digital world of noise, clutter, and information. And the problem isn’t just behavioral — it’s chemical.

Waiting for that “ping” on our phones is actually addictive, neuroscientists tell us, and when messages come in, our bodies respond by sending doses of dopamine through our systems. Sites that house endorphins are all over the body, but dopamine is housed mainly in the midbrain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that makes a stressed body feel good. Unlike endorphins, which mostly block pain and bring in a little euphoria, dopamine lends a helping hand. It signals the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. So when a text comes to us, when someone “likes” our post on Facebook, or when a photo we posted on Instagram is well received, it’s fulfilling. The good news is, it makes us happy; the bad news is, we may find it difficult to live without the addiction of that external “happy” ping. We become preoccupied with the search for our own happy feelings, failing to feel other’s happiness or unhappiness.

Making Time for Margins

The problem is, in our culture today, we can unwittingly live for the ping of social media likes or text messages and never experience the solace of silence or solitude. In short, this constant stimulation removes any time for reflection — time to think one’s own thoughts, time to form one’s identity without borrowing or copying others.

Here is what’s happening to our brains.

When neuroscientists examine the human brain during times on social media, they notice that the portion of the brain that develops empathy is dormant. Why? Empathy is not developed in our brains when there is no margin for reflection, daydreaming, or assessing ourselves and others.

As much as I appreciate our ability to connect through technology today, empathy is only learned when external media is not stimulating the brain. We must be still to reflect. Without this, empathy shrinks. Even bullying goes unchecked by our normal sense of morality because we never stop to evaluate what it might do to the recipient. Margins offer time to reflect.

How Can We Help Students Recover?

Here are four simple steps we can employ to help students navigate this challenge:

1. Stop and think.
Set boundaries or special times when phones are not allowed. Explain the research of this article and agree on the need for margins in the calendar to think or reflect.

2. See all sides.
Now you have an environment where critical thinking can develop. Converse to help students see various sides of an issue or situation. Help them feel what others feel.

3. Sense and evaluate.
For empathy to grow, students must draw conclusions. While all issues aren’t black and white, we must foster convictions about justice, compassion and ethics in them.

4. Say and show what you believe.
Finally, offer opportunities for them to speak out or demonstrate their perspective. Once one person takes a stand, others have permission to do so as well.

Yesterday, I attempted to build a case for margins in our lives — both for us leaders and for our students. We need margins in order to become fully alive and to become the best versions of ourselves. I am not the first to say it, but it’s true: we live in a crowded world today that offers precious little room for space. Noise, clutter, activities. Tweets, texts, posts. There’s just so much in which to respond.

As much as I appreciate our ability to connect through technology today, empathy is only learned when the brain is not being stimulated by external media. We must be still to reflect, to do nothing but think and evaluate. Without this, empathy shrinks. Even bullying goes unchecked by our normal sense of morality because we never stop to evaluate what it might do to the recipient. Margins offer time to reflect.

Empathy is reduced.

Imagination is malnourished.

Critical thinking goes undeveloped.

Innovation and creativity are diminished.

In a world of noise and stimulation via our phones or tablets, some portions of our brain become idle. The portions that daydream or imagine are not activated. Someone else does our thinking for us. In a culture where our new currency is fame — measured in Likes, Shares, Views and Retweets — we’ve replaced brain development in certain areas with external stimulation. In response, our internal motivation can atrophy.

The Benefit of Margins

Believe it or not, inserting margins in a student’s life (and calendar) can actually offer stunning benefits to their week. Let me suggest a few:

Reduced Stress.
With margins, our stress levels go down — on the road, in the class, on the job.

More Empathy.
With margins, we have mental capacity to empathize with and relate to others.

Clearer Focus.
With margins, we can focus better on what’s before us and be energized by clarity.

Better memory.
With margins, we actually have the capacity to remember important details.

Healthier sleep.
With margins, we can rest and sleep better, which is most critical to our health.

Less Distracted.
With margins, we can avoid becoming distracted by so much noise and clutter.

Helping Students Create Margins

So what can we do to help students create margins? Here are a few ideas:

Simplify.
They must value simplicity. Keep activities as uncomplicated as possible.

Unplug.
They must value periods away from the connections of technology.

Eliminate.
They must value minimizing the clutter, excess and noise.

Align.
They must value arranging their priorities so that they align, not divert.

Recently, I met with some college students who refer to themselves as “minimalists.” To them, this simply means they don’t need a lot of “stuff” to be happy. They don’t need lots of money, or entertainment, or even people in order to feel satisfied. On the contrary, they can be fulfilled with a few simple resources and friends in life. While this may not be for everyone, I noticed that these students were genuinely content and emotionally well adjusted.

Interestingly, it was because they had and did less, not more. It’s all about margins.